Kids Survivor: Don’t Even Think About Itl

The new CBS reality TV series Kid Nation is receiving the type of controversy-driven publicity that would make Michael Moore turn green with envy. A parent has complained about conditions bordering on abuse and neglect, the whether state laws were broken, and the Smoking Gun has published the show’s contract with parents.

CBS’s promotion of Kid’s Nation describes the show as follows:

“Forty children, forty days, no adults. They’re eager to prove that they can build a better world for tomorrow in the new reality show, KIDS NATION. Setting in Bonanza City, New Mexico, once a thriving mining town, but now deserted, these kids ages 8 – 15, all walks of life, will build their own new world, pioneer style. They will confront adult issues while coping with classic childhood emotions such as homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule. Episodes end with a town meeting in which the kids award one child $20,000 all leading to a grand finale, with an unimaginable test, the biggest awards, and a special surprise for every kid.”

Just from this description, we would think that any normal parent would decline to let their child participate. Going a step further in this concern, a 22-page contract was signed with parents and the producers that allows the producers almost full custody of the child for the duration of the show’s production. One particular paragraph that interest us:

Parents of minors starring in "Kid Nation," the controversial new CBS reality show, signed away their rights to sue the network and the show's producers if their child died, was severely injured, or contracted a sexually transmitted disease during the program's taping. The blanket liability waivers are contained in a detailed "participant agreement" prepared by the show's producers and signed by parents. That document also gave consent to CBS and its production partners to make medical treatment decisions on the minor's behalf (including surgery), though the network made no promises about the "qualifications or credentials" of medical professionals that might treat the stars of "Kid Nation," which was originally titled "The Manhattan Project." The show, which debuts next month, features 40 children (ages 8-15) living in a New Mexico "ghost town" for 40 days without adult supervision. Concerns about possible violations of child labor laws have prompted state officials to investigate the TV production. A copy of the participant agreement was provided to TSG by the New Mexico attorney general's office in response to an open records request. By signing the agreement, a parent gave CBS the right to search the Minor's person and the Minor's belongings (including, without limitation, by x-ray or similar device)." Additionally, the agreement notes, "Kid Nation" participants "will have no privacy" except when they are in the bathroom.

Why would any reasonably thinking parent sign any contract that would require this of their child and relinquish their own parental rights? A parent has complained about conditions bordering on abuse and neglect, the New Mexico Attorney General’s office is investigating whether state laws were broken, and the Smoking Gun has published the show’s contract with parents.

Instances have been reported in Entertainment Weekly the purpose of the project was to watch youngsters build an adult-free society. They cooked their own food, washed their own laundry, used outhouses, and even cleaned their own kitchen. And that's how one participant on Kid Nation (premiering Sept. 19) has mistaken a water-and-bleach solution for ginger ale. He thought it tasted funny, so naturally, he asked three friends to take a swig.

We all know that reality TV appeals to industry executives due to the cost efficiency of it. Why splash out on a sumptuous period drama or a star-studded comedy when all you need to guarantee a ratings hit is a few wannabes and a camera? Now Hollywood unions are fighting back after one reality show that featured children allowed to run their own town, has been condemned for going too far. Jeff Hermanson, assistant executive director of Writers Guild of America, West has fumed that: “To me, this is the sweatshop of the entertainment industry” adding that such shows are exploited to avoid having to pay the salaries of talented writers and actors.
Still we sit in amazement about how this fiasco has gotten then far. Kids’ Nation is set to air on September 19.

Facing a salvo of criticism - and potential lawsuits - CBS has little choice but to air a safe, predictable show about 40 kids ages 8 to 15 taking over a New Mexico ghost town. Don’t expect Lord of the Flies. Some will get homesick yet miraculously harness the strength to stand on their own. Nerds will find friends. Bullies will learn to show their soft sides. Hugging will become a team sport. Not exactly what we might expect. Such a white-wash would squelch some of the mystery of the show.
Still Paul Petersen, a former child actor said, “It's ghastly and a shame," Petersen runs A Minor Consideration, a non-profit watchdog and advocacy group that monitors child labor in the entertainment industry. "I've never seen anything like this, in terms of wanton disregard for the lives of children."

Can kids legally choose to enter into an intimate relationship? The parents can't speak publicly about the show without the network's permission. They face a $5 million penalty if they do. For the honor of letting their children become human guinea pigs, each family could receive a whopping $5,000 or $20,000 for the best participants. While CBS was careful to add countless disclaimers in the contract, there is one they can't use: "There were no kids harmed during the production of this show."

Maybe CBS should have cast Michael Vick and his dogs instead. Well, maybe not!. That would have been inhumane.

Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter pressed CBS to cancel the show. "This has all gone far enough," he wrote. "It's time for CBS to cut its losses, apologize for an idea that was well-intentioned but ill-considered, and pull Kid Nation from the schedule.” Deadline Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke concluded her column by urging a Congressional investigation of "this latest scandal because it involves children.” On the other hand, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, executive director of the National Youth Rights Association, told Britain's Guardian newspaper, "This show is challenging a social taboo that needs to be challenged ... that kids need to be kids and need to be sheltered from life, which isn't the case at all."

What encourages a TV network and parents of 40 kids to submit to such a premise in a TV show? We believe, simply, it is greed, avarice, etc.

We need to stand up and be counted in opposition to such nonsense on TV. Shame, shame on the parents for giving up their precious privileged of being a parent. We need to speak out in opposition to television that promotes greed. We need to demand that well scripted, well-acted shows be developed.

Do you remember Howard Beale, the news anchor who lost his job with the network? He encouraged his viewers to find some common ground to stand upon to make changes and cure ills of the society. His best quote was.

“'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'

You may want to consider watching a DVD on September 19 th.